“Are you good without God? Millions are.” So read a recent billboard message paid for by an atheist group. They evidently feel that they have no need for God.

On the other hand, many who claim to believe in God make decisions as though he did not exist. Salvatore Fisichella, a Catholic archbishop, said of members of his own church: “Looking at us probably no one would recognise we are Christians today because our style of life is the same as non-believers.”

Some are too busy to worry about God. They consider him too remote or inaccessible to play any meaningful role in their lives. At best, such individuals turn to God only when they are in trouble or need something—almost as if he were a servant at their beck and call.

Others see little practical value in religious teachings or, at any rate, fail to practice what their church preaches. To cite just one example, 76 percent of the Catholics in Germany believe that it is acceptable for a man and a woman to live together before marriage—a view contrary to the teachings of both their church and the Bible. (1 Corinthians 6:18; Hebrews 13:4) Of course, Catholics are not alone in perceiving a disconnect between their religious affiliation and their way of life. Clergymen of many denominations lament that their congregants behave like “practical atheists.”

These examples logically lead to the question: Do we really need God? The issue is by no means a new one. It was first brought up in the opening pages of the Bible. In order to find the answer to the question, let us give attention to a number of issues raised in the Bible book of Genesis.